On June 25, 2010, Justice K.E. Tjosvold of the Provincial Court of Alberta released his much anticipated decision in R. v. Syncrude Canada Ltd. While environmental groups are claiming that this decision sends a strong message to operators in Alberta's controversial oil sands, the main thrust of the decision focuses on the elements of a successful (or in this case an unsuccessful) due diligence defence. Published in the September 2010 (Vol. 20, No. 1) edition of Environews, the newsletter of the Environmental Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association.